Estimating population size of Pygoscelid Penguins from TM data

• Main Authors: Schwaller, Mathew R., Dahmer, Paul A., Olson, Charles E., Jr.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1987
• Subjects: EARTH RESOURCES AND REMOTE SENSING; Southern Ocean; Guano
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19890015316

An estimate was made toward a continent wide population of penguins. The results indicate that Thematic Mapper data can be used to identify penguin rookeries due to the unique reflectance properties of guano. Strong correlations exist between nesting populations and rookery area occupied by the birds. These correlations allow estimation of the number of nesting pairs in colonies. The success of remote sensing and biometric analyses leads one to believe that a continent wide estimate of penguin populations is possible based on a timely sample employing ground based and remote sensing techniques. Satellite remote sensing along the coastline may well locate previously undiscovered penguin nesting sites, or locate rookeries which have been assumed to exist for over a half century, but never located. Observations which found that penguins are one of the most sensitive elements in the complex of Southern Ocean ecosystems motivated this study.